One Way Churches Can Welcome People With Disabilities
Want to make your church more welcoming? Invite individuals with disabilities to lead in reading or prayer. MORE WITH AMY JULIA: FREE RESOURCE: 10 Way to Move Toward a Good…
Why Belonging Matters
I’ve been thinking about the difference between inclusion and belonging. These thoughts have mostly been prompted by all the end-of-high school events for our daughter Penny, who has Down syndrome.…
Hope Heals Board Retreat
I have the great honor of serving on the Board of Hope Heals. What a gift to spend 36 hours with these fellow Board members as well as members of…
Christianity Today: God Teaches Me Through My Daughter with Down Syndrome
Adults with intellectual disabilities can have robust spiritual lives. Are we learning from them? Every Sunday afternoon, my daughter and I join a Zoom call with her friend and her…
Hope Moments: Living Out the Way of Jesus
I want to tell you about every moment from Hope Heals camp. But even with all my words and stories, and even with Ashley Monogue’s gorgeous photography (montage below), and…
Photo by Ashley Monogue
Hope Heals: Everyone Lifted Up
In typical American life, some people win and others lose. Some people get the award and others get no recognition. Some people are considered better than others. It’s not that…
Camp PALS and Belonging
Penny sent me a text on her first night of Camp PALS: “With my favorite girl at my favorite place.” The next day, the text read, “Best year ever.” Penny…
Image courtesy of Canva Pro
Becoming a Culture of Belonging
How do you know if your community is a place of belonging? Professor Erik Carter has articulated ten “dimensions of belonging.” He created this model for churches to assess whether…
What Casual Discrimination Looks Like
Chris Hinds, a Denver city councilman who uses a wheelchair, was asked to hoist himself onto a debate stage last week because the stage was inaccessible to him. When I…
You Can Be the Person Who Makes a Difference
I walked into the gym a few minutes late. Penny was perched on the sidelines along with the other cheerleaders. The boys’ basketball team had taken a slight lead. I…
